Elgin Reels From Toxic Cleanup Cost

September 13, 1991|By Sue Ellen Christian and Janice Bjorklund.

Leaking underground fuel storage tanks that Elgin officials unexpectedly found in their prized redevelopment area have not only put a glitch in the city`s plans for the land, but could cost more than $500,000 to clean up.

``In general, we have a major mess,`` said Steve Bone, assistant superintendent of Elgin`s Bureau of Inspectional Services, at a council meeting this week.

What started out as a relatively simple job of removing some underground tanks at a cost estimated at $46,500 has ballooned into a major de-

contamination effort on the 21-acre site.

``I don`t know what went wrong,`` said Assistant City Manager Bob Malm.

``You drill holes and take soil tests, but if you don`t know the tanks even existed . . . ``

Elgin`s problem is not uncommon. According to state Environmental Protection Agency records, last year nearly 2,000 of the 3,700 chemical releases reported to the agency were from leaking underground storage tanks, said Dennis Ahlberg, manager of the Emergency Response Unit at the EPA.

Fortunately, said Bone, the gas and oil leaking from the Elgin underground tanks has not contaminated the nearby Fox River or the groundwater supply in the area.

And, once the land is cleaned up, the city hopes Sherman Hospital will decide to relocate to what the city still views as a prime development site.

The abandoned tanks are in the South Grove Redevelopment Area, immediately south of Elgin`s downtown pedestrian mall and close to the east bank of the Fox River.

Fourteen underground tanks, some of which were not shown on property records, as well as truckloads of contaminated dirt, have been removed from the site. Now, groundwater studies are under way to see how extensive the contamination of gas and oil is, said Bone.

``The contamination is just in the immediate area . . . there`s not an immediate danger,`` said Bone. ``There was no prior knowledge of pollution``

before the city bought the land.

Now, the city is investigating whether former property owners can be held responsible for the cleanup.

The original bid to remove the South Grove tanks, a dry well and a concrete vault was $46,500 from Ainlay Tank Testing & Repair Inc. of Algonquin, according to a staff memorandum.

But when the tanks were removed, it was found that several had leaked and contaminated the ground with gas and oil.

Officials estimate that 446 truck loads of contaminated soil will have to be dumped into the Woodland Landfill of South Elgin, and Ainlay now estimates the cost to clean up contaminated soil that has mixed with groundwater to be about $500,000.

And two of the sites, the former Elgin Veterans of Foreign Wars building at 262 S. Grove St. and 206 S. Grove, which was the former site of Fred & Sons plumbing, will also need groundwater reclamation and treatment systems installed.

The treatment, which could take years, will be an additional cost estimated ``to be several hundred thousand dollars,`` said Bone.

The city began systematically buying the 21 acres in 1986 as part of a massive downtown redevelopment effort. According to Malm, the city has spent about $4 million to buy the property, much of which was previously owned by car dealers.

Elgin is also applying to the state Environmental Protection Agency for a grant to help pay for the cleanup. Their chances of getting some sort of reimbursement-the agency pays a deductible ranging from $10,000 to $100,000-look promising, judging from records.

Since 1989, when the current IEPA fund for leaking underground fuel tanks was established, the agency has received 474 applications. Almost 250 of those applicants have received a $10,000 deductible, and many have received even more funding, said Heather Nash, a community relations coordinator for the agency.